The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit published analysis on 7 December 2023 estimating that around 2.8m privately rented homes may not receive energy efficiency improvements after the Prime Minister announced the planned tightening of Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for rented homes would be scrapped1.
The ECIU said almost 250,000 renting households in marginal seats are now set to be "colder and poorer", paying £40m extra per year1. Of the 50 most closely fought seats in England at the 2019 General Election, with a margin of around or less than 2,500 votes, 32 are estimated to have above average levels of private rented homes that do not meet the Government's target Energy Performance Certificate band C1. The same 32 seats have above average levels of fuel poverty, including Stoke-on-Trent Central, where more than half of all homes (52%) are estimated to be in fuel poverty against an England average of around one in five (27%)1.
In the Prime Minister's constituency, Richmond in North Yorkshire, around 6,000 private renters in homes below EPC band C could pay over £25m in extra gas bills by 2050, or over £4,000 per home, working out at around £1.1m per year or around £185 per poorly insulated private rented home1. Around a third (32%) of all households there are fuel poor and more than two in three (70%) private rented homes do not meet the target band C1. Private renters in constituencies considered part of the "Red Wall" could see extra gas bills of up to over £600m between 2028 and 2050, or nearly £30m per year1.
The ECIU set out the current and proposed standards as follows1:
| Standard | Applies from |
|---|---|
| New private tenancies must meet EPC band E | April 2018 |
| All private tenancies must meet EPC band E | April 2020 |
| All new tenancies must meet EPC band C (consulted on, not enacted) | 2025 |
| All tenancies must meet EPC band C (consulted on, not enacted) | 2028 |
The 2021 consultation on tightening the standards closed over two years before the Prime Minister's net zero speech in mid-September 2023, in which he said the plans would be scrapped1.
"those plans will be scrapped…we'll never force any household"
Polling by Focaldata for the ECIU of 1,579 GB adults found 57% of renter respondents thought scrapping the standards would mean higher energy bills that could worsen their cost of living, rising to 64% of renters aged 18 to 341. The ECIU also cited the Government's own evaluation research, which found around two-thirds of landlords would use savings to pay for upgrades, one in five suggested they would raise rents, and 3% said they would sell rather than upgrade1. Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said the decision "will particularly hurt renters, leaving millions of tenants across the country facing needlessly high bills through the winters ahead"1. The Resolution Foundation said "axing regulations to make privately rented homes more efficient will impact poorer households the most"1.
Why it matters for households
For a private renter, the EPC band of the home sets the floor on how much energy it takes to keep warm, and the bill that follows. The ECIU estimates that had the standards already been in place, private renters could have saved over £400m in total this winter, or £140 per home in gas bills1. It reports that insulation rates over the last decade have been 90% lower than their peak of 2.3m measures per year in 2013, at 160,000 in 2022, with only 100,000 measures installed so far in 20231. The UK private rented sector has among the worst housing standards of any tenure: 23% of households are classed as non-decent, roughly double the owner occupier and social rented sectors, and 56% of privately rented homes fall below EPC band C1. The ECIU also cites a Citizens Advice report finding 1.6 million children living in privately rented homes that are cold, damp or have significant mould, and that private renters in homes rated EPC D to G were 73% more likely to experience damp and 89% more likely to experience excessive cold than those in homes rated A to C1. For a household, the practical effect is that the improvement that would cut running costs depends on a landlord's decision rather than the tenant's, and the ECIU's figures suggest that decision is now less likely to be forced by regulation.
What happens next
The ECIU states that the 2028 EPC band C requirement for all private rented properties remained after the interim 2025 standard was widely reported to have been scrapped in early 2023, and that the Prime Minister then announced the plans would be scrapped1. It does not report a replacement timetable or a date for new legislation. Scotland has a separate regime, covered in energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in Scotland.